Apparatus for spreading and compacting tubular fabric

ABSTRACT

Pinwheels are supported on conveyor chains for movement along opposite sides of a spreader frame to aid in drawing the tubular fabric over the spreading frame with the pinwheels being held in a nonrotating position. Drive means is provided for rotating the pinwheels in a reverse direction from the direction of fabric travel to compact the fabric to the desired degree. Adjusting means is provided for varying the width of the spreader frame and the distance between the opposed sets of pinwheels to thereby permit processing of tubular fabrics of various widths.

United States Patent Willis W. Coates 1059 3rd St., Spencer, N.C. 28159 Apr. 3, 1969 Sept. 14, 1971 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 616,663, Feb. 16, 1967, now Patent No. 3,436,796, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 552,0 5 8 1Y lay 23, 1966, now abandoned.

Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented APPARATUS FOR SPREADING AND COMPAC'IING TUBULAR FABRIC 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 26/55, 26/18.5, 26/18.6 Int. Cl D06c 5/00, D06c 21/00 Field of Search .L ..26/55, 18.5,

[56] References Clted UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,583,630 H1952 Chatfield 26/55 X 2,590,938 4/1952 Cohn et al. 26/55 2,634,488 4/1953 Cohn et al. 26/55 3,204,317 9/1965 Hurt et al 26/55 3,334,391 8/1967 Kusters et al. 26/55 3,436,796 4/ 1969 Coates 26/55 M FOREIGN PATENTS 15,957 1908 Great Britain 26/55 Primary Examiner-Robert R. Mackey Attorney-Patron, Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson ABSTRACT: Pinwheels are supported on conveyor chains for movement along opposite sides of a spreader frame to aid in drawing the tubular fabric over the spreading frame with the pinwheels being held in a nonrotating position. Drive means is provided for rotating the pinwheels in a reverse direction from the direction of fabric travel to compact the fabric to the desired degree. Adjusting means is provided for varying the width of the spreader frame and the distance between the opposed sets of pinwheels to thereby permit processing of tubular fabrics of various widths.

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sum 3 BF 3 INVENTOR W\ LL\$ W. cOATE-s ATTORNEYS APPARATUS FOR SPREADING AND COMPACTING TUBULAR FABRIC This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application-Ser. No. 616,663, filed Feb. 16, 1967, now US. Pat. No. 3,436,796 which is in turn a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 552,058, filed May 23, 1966, now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to a tubular fabric-spreading apparatus of the type wherein a tubular fabric is drawn over a spreader frame disposed within the tubular fabric. More particularly, the present apparatus includes improved means for controlling the lengthwise compaction of the fabric as it is drawn over the final portion of the spreader frame.

The apparatus disclosed in my said copending application includes pinwheels which are supported on conveyor chains at opposite sides of the spreader frame. The pinwheels are held in nonrotating condition as they engage and propel the fabric along the spreader frame. This apparatus reduces the frictional drag on opposite sides of the fabric and the penetrating engagement of the pins on the pinwheels provides a positive grip on the fabric but does not crush or mark the fabric. The pinwheels engage the opposite side edges of the fabric throughout a major portion of the length of the spreader frame and thereby maintain the fabric in a unifonnly stretched condition as the fabric is drawn over the spreader frame.

During the wet processing of knitted tubular fabric, such as during bleaching, dyeing, washing and scouring, the knitted 4 fabric tube becomes elongated due to the lengthwise tension that is applied to the fabric to pass it through the various wet processing stages. This longitudinal tension on the knitted fabric causes a reduction in width and an abnormal elongation of the stitch loops therein. As the fabric tube is passed over a spreader apparatus, such as is shown in my prior applications, the stitch loops are stretched in a widthwise or coursewise direction and this tends to shorten the stitch loops in a lengthwise or walewise direction. However, in certain types of knit fabrics, particularly where the fabric is knitted from textured or stretch-type yarn, merely stretching the tubular fabric widthwise will not achieve the desired compacting of the fabric by shortening the stitch loops to the desired degree. With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fabric-spreading and compacting apparatus which includes means for positively advancing the opposite side portions of the flattened tubular fabric at the desired rate over the first portion of the spreader frame and for retarding the advancing opposite side portions of the tubular fabric at the desired rate to thereby compact the fabric to the desired degree so that it is in the proper position to be permanently set at the desired length width, yield, and weight for each yard of fabric.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved fabric-spreading apparatus which includes means for varying the width of the spreader frame while the tubular fabric is positioned on the spreader frame.

These objects are preferably accomplished by providing variable speed drive means for imparting the desired degree of rotation to the conveying pinwheels in a direction opposite the direction of travel of the fabric as it is drawn over the final portion of the spreader frame to thereby obtain the desired amount of compaction of the fabric. The width of the spreader frame is varied by means of rack and gear connections between opposite sides of the spreader frame which may be adjusted by a control wheel that may be rotated while the tubular fabric is in position on the spreader frame.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the improved spreader of the present invention showing the pinwheel conveyor chains at opposite sides of the spreader frame with the tubular fabric being shown in dash-dot lines as it is being drawn from right to left;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the spreader, looking'inwardly at the bottom of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the forward end of the right-hand pinwheel conveyor chain and illustrating the manner in which reverse rotation is imparted to .the pinwheels as they move the fabric forwardly over the spreader frame, and with portions being broken for clarity;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4, in FIG. 3 and illustrating the manner in which the drive chain engages sprockets associated with the pinwheels to impart rotation thereto; and

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of one of the fabric advancing pinwheels, illustrating the manner in which the same is supported for movement and looking upwardly in the direction of the arrow 5 in FIG. 4.

The tubular fabric-spreading apparatus of the present application is generally of the same type as that disclosed in my said copending application Ser. No. 616,663 and like parts will bear the same reference characters as used in said copending application. A spreader frame, broadly indicated at A in FIG. 1, is adapted to fit within and spread tubular fabric F as it is drawn thereover by primary fabric drawing or advancing means, such as a pair of draw rolls 10, only the upper one of which is shown in FIG. 1. Feed rolls 12, 13 (FIG. 2) maintain the spreader frame A in position and control the movement of the central portion of the fabric.

The spreader frame A is different from the spreader frame disclosed in my prior application and is provided with improved means for varying the widths thereof so that tubular fabric of various diameters may be spread on the apparatus. As the fabric F is drawn over the spreader frame A, the tube is flattened and preferably stretched slightly in a transverse direction and opposite side portions of the flattened tube are normally drawn over and in frictional contact with opposite sides of the spreader frame. The manner in which the spreader frame is adjusted in width will be presently described.

Fabric advancing or propelling means, broadly indicated at B and B is provided adjacent opposite sides of the spreader frame A (FIG.l) for positively moving the side portions of the flattened tubular fabric at a predetermined rate, relative to the central portion of the fabric, and to thereby reduce the frictional drag on opposite side portions of the fabric as it moves along opposite sides of the spreader frame. The fabric advancing or propelling means is substantially identical to that disclosed in my said copending application.

In accordance with the present invention, a fabric compacting means, indicated atC and C in FIG. 1, is provided for controlling the degree of compaction of the fabric as it is drawn over the spreader frame A. This compacting means includes drive means for selectively imparting rotative movement to the pinwheels carried by and forming a part of the respective fabric advancing or propelling means B and B. The portions of the present fabric-spreading apparatus which are identical to those portions of the fabric-spreading apparatus disclosed in my said copending application will be described first and then the improved spreader A and the pinwheel drive means C and C will then be described.

The spreading apparatus includes side frames 14, 15 (FIG.1) which support suitable bearings for the draw rolls 10 and the feed rolls l2, 13. The fabric-advancing members B, B at each side of the spreader frame A are identical and only the member B will be described in detail, like reference characters being applied to the corresponding parts of the member B, with the prime notation added. The fabric advancing member B includes an elongate baseplate 35 (FIG.4) which extends throughout at least the major portion of the length of the spreader frame A and a guide plate 36 is supported in spaced relationship there above by means of an I-beam 37. A plurality of spaced-apart pinwheel support brackets 40 are supported for sliding movement adjacent opposite sides of the guideplate 36 and are connected together by a pinwheel conveyor chain 41.

Each support bracket 40 rotatably supports the medial portion of a vertical shaft 42 (FIG. 4) and a pinwheel 43 is fixed adjacent the upper end thereof. The pinwheel 43 is provided with a plurality of outwardly extending bent fabric engaging pins 44 thereon. The inner ends of the pins 44 are suitably im bedded in the pinwheel 43 and extend outwardly therefrom in a radial direction and their outer portions are bent in a radial direction and their outer portions are bent in the direction of movement of the pinwheels as they move along the inner reach of the conveyor chain 41. The outer ends of the pins 44 are pointed to engage and penetrate the fabric stretched over the spreader frame A as the pin wheels are moved along parallel to the spreader frame by the conveyor chain 41.

The conveyor chain 41 passes around an idler sprocket 50 (FIG. 1) at one end of the fabric-advancing member B and around a driven sprocket 51 at its other end. Curved extensions 36a (FIG. 3) are provided at each end of the guide plate 36 to support the brackets 40 as they move around the sprockets 50, 51. The driven sprocket 51 (FIG. 3) is fixed on the upper end of a vertical drive shaft 52 which is rotatably supported in the guide plate 36 and its lower end is rotatably supported in the baseplate 35.

The lower end of the vertical drive shaft 52 is drivingly connected by bevel gears, not shown, to a horizontal drive shaft 56 (FIG. 1) which is rotatably supported adjacent opposite ends in the side frames 14, 15. The drive shaft 56 is connected by suitable sprockets and a drive chain 60 to a main main drive shaft 61 which is suitably supported adjacent opposite ends on the side frames 14, (FIGS. 1 and 2). A drive motor 62 is suitably supported by the frame and is drivingly connected to main drive shaft 61 by means of a belt 63 and a variable speed pulley 64 so that rotation, at the desired speed, may be imparted to the main drive shaft 61. Thus, through the driving connections heretofore described, the fabric-advancing means B. B may be moved at the desired speed along opposite sides of the spreader frame A.

A drive pinion 66 (FIG. 5) is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 42 and is normally maintained in anonrotating position by means of a pawl 67 which is pivotally supported at one end and on the support bracket 40. A leaf spring 67a urges the pawl 67 toward the pinion 66 so that a locking lug 68 is normally maintained in engagement with the teeth of the pinion 66. Thus, the locking pawl 67 normally maintains the drive pinion 66 and the pinwheels 43 in a nonrotating position so that the pins 44 engage and grip opposite edge portions of the fabric as the pinwheels move along the inner reach of the conveyor and adjacent the chains 41, 41', as shown in the upper left-hand portion of FIG. 4.

As the pinwheels 43 successively reach the end of the path of travel of the inner reach of the conveyor chain 41, as shown in the left-hand portion of FIG. 3, they are preferably rotated in a clockwise direction to insure that the pointed ends of the pins 44 will be moved out of engagement with the fabric as the corresponding pinwheel 43 starts around the curved end, carried by the drive sprocket 51. As shown in FIG. 3, clockwise rotation is imparted to the pinion 66 and the pinwheel 43 just before it starts to move away from the fabric F to insure proper withdrawal of the pins 44 from the fabric.

As is clearly shown in said copending application, clockwise rotation is imparted to the pinwheel 43 by means of a plurality of speedup gears which are drivingly rotated by the shaft 52. As shown in FIG. 3, the free end of the locking pawl 67 is in engagement with an elongate cam plate 70 which is supported on the lower surface of the guide plate 36 so that the locking lug 68 is maintained out of engagement with the teeth of the driving pinion 66 and the pinwheels 43 are released so that they may be rotated during the latter portion of their travel along the fabric spreader frame A. The compacting means C is therefore operable to rotate the pinwheels as they approach the end of the path of movement along the inner reach of the conveyor chains, in a manner to be presently described. Upon engagement of the pinion 66 with a rotating gear 72 (FIG.3), clockwise rotation is imparted to the pinwheel to withdraw the pins from the fabric. The gear 72 forms a part of the speedup gearing which also includes gears 75, 76, 78 and 80, which are driven by the vertical drive shaft 52.

Two adjustment screw shafts 31, 32 (FIG. 1) are suitably supported on the side frames 14, 15 and rollers 30, 30 are supported for free rotation thereon to support the spreader frame A, in a manner to be presently described. The two adjustment screw shafts 31, 32 are drivingly connected together by a chain and a hand wheel 86 is fixed on one end of the shaft 32 so that manual rotation may be simultaneously applied to the screw shafts 31, 32 to thereby move the fabric advancing members B. B outwardly or inwardly, relative to the spreader frame A.

The rotational speed of the draw rolls 10 must be carefully adjusted to correspond to the speed of movement of the opposite side portions of the fabric F by the pinwheels 43 and, to this end, variable speed drive means in interposed between the draw rolls l0 and the main drive shaft 61 (FIG. 2). The draw rolls 10 are drivingly connected by gears 90 and a pulley 91 is connected to the shaft of the lower draw roll. A drive belt 910 extends around the pulley 91 and around a variable speed pulley 92 which is in turn fixed on one end of the main drive shaft 61. An idler pulley 93 is rotatably supported on the inner end of a control lever 94 which is pivotally supported intermediate its ends on the frame 14 and this other end is connected to one end of an adjustment screw shaft 95.

With the control lever 94 positioned as shown in solid lines in FIG. 2, the speed of rotation imparted from the main drive shaft 61 to the draw rolls 10 is at a maximum and as the screw shaft 95 is rotated to move the control lever 94 and the idler pulley 93 to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 2, the speed of the draw rolls 10, relative to the rotational speed of the main drive shaft 61, is reduced to a minimum. Thus, by adjusting the position of the control lever 94, the speed of the draw rolls 10, relative to the speed of advance of the pinwheels 43 may be varied as desired. Normally the speed will be adjusted so that the pinwheels 43 move opposite sides of the fabric at the same rate as it is drawn over the spreader by the draw rolls 10.

The feed rolls 12, 13 do not extend throughout the complete width of the fabric F (FIG. 1) so that they may function as bow control means since their relative speed may be adjusted to advance or retard the central portion of the fabric F as it passes over the spreader frame. The feed rolls l2, 13 are supported for rotation on the opposite side frames 14, I5 and are drivingly connected by gears 99, only one of which is shown in FIG. 1. The roll 13 has a pulley connected to the drive shaft thereof and a drive belt 101 (FIG. 2) extends around a variable speed pulley 102 (FIG. 1) which is fed on one end of the main drive shaft 61.

The speed of the feed rolls 12, 13 may be varied, relative to the speed of the fabric-advancing members B, B and to the speed of the draw rolls 10. To this end, an idler pulley 103 is rotatably supported on one end of the control lever 104 (FIG. 2) which is pivotally supported intermediate its ends on the frame 15 and its other end is suitably connected to an adjustment screw shaft 105. Thus, rotation of the shaft 105 changes the position of the control lever 104 and thereby effectively increases or decreases the diameter of the variable speed pulley 102 to thereby selectively increase or decrease the speed of the feed rolls 12, 13.

Thus, as the fabric F is drawn over the first portion of the spreader frame A by means of the draw rolls 10, the opposite side portions are advanced by movement of the pinwheels 43 at the opposite sides of the fabric spreader frame A. Since the spaced pinwheels 43 positively engage and move the side portions of the flattened tubular fabric along the spreader frame. the normal frictional drag of the spreader frame is overcome and the fabric can be maintained in the desired condition.

In the case of knit tubular fabric, it is important to maintain the courses of stitches in a straight transverse line as the fabric is longitudinally drawn over the spreader frame A. As best shown in FIG. I. the pinwheels successively move into engagement with the fabric portions at opposite sides of the spreader frame A and are maintained in engagement therewith throughout at least a major portion of the length of travel of the fabric edges along the opposite side edges of the fabric spreader A. Thus, the desired amount of transverse stretching of the fabric is obtained as it passes over the spreader frame and the opposite side portions can be moved at the desired speed, relative to the center of the fabric. Also, the speed of the feed rolls 12, 13 may be varied as desired, by rotating the adjustment screw shaft 105, so that the central portion of the fabric is advanced at the proper speed to maintain the courses in a transverse line across the fabric F. If desired, the draw rolls and/or the feed rolls 12, 13 may be knurled or covered with a suitable frictional material.

When the knit tubular fabric has been subjected to a longitudinal pulling force, the stitch loops become elongated to such an extent that a transverse stretch is not sufficient to bring them back to the normal length. By longitudinally compacting the fabric while it is in a transversely stretched condition, the stitch loops can be easily shortened to the desired degree.

This compaction of the fabric is made possible by the fabric compaction means, broadly indicated at C, C in FIG. 1. The compaction means C, C are operatively associated with the respective fabric advancing elements B, B for the purpose of imparting rotative movement to the pinwheels 43, carried by the respective conveyor chains 41, 41' during the latter portion of their travel along opposite sides of the fabric spreader A. The fabric-compacting means C, C are identical and only the compacting means C will be described in detail with like reference characters being applied to the other compacting means C, with the prime notation added.

The compacting means C includes drive means for imparting rotative movement to the pinwheels 43. The drive means comprises a sprocket 109 fixed on the upper end of the shaft 42 of each pinwheel 43 and above the level of the fabric F (FIG. 4). The control cam 70 extends along the lower surface of the plate 36 far enough that the tail of the pawl 67 engages the same to release the pinion 66 and pinwheel 43 for rotation as the corresponding pinwheel approaches the leading end of a pinwheel drive chain 110. The chain 110 is provided with upper and lower chain tracks and the lower track extends around an idler sprocket 111 which is suitably supported on the upper end of a shaft 112 and the lower end of which is supported on the plate 36. The inner and outer reaches of the drive chain 110 are supported on opposite edge portions of a support plate 110a which is suitably supported on and in spaced relation above the plate 36.

The opposite end of the chain 110 is supported on a drive sprocket 113 which is fixed on the upper end of a drive shaft 114. The medial portion of the drive shaft 114 extends through the support plates 36 and 35 (FIG. 4) and has a bevel gear 115 fixed at its lower end. The bevel gear 115 is in driving engagement with a mating bevel gear 116 which is supported for longitudinal movement along and drivingly connected to a drive shaft 117, as by a key 1 18. Opposite end portions of the drive shaft 117 are supported for rotation in the frame members 14, 15.

A bracket 120 (FIG. 4) is fixed at its upper end on the plate 35 and its lower end surrounds the drive shaft 117 to maintain the bevel gear 116 in driving relationship with the bevel gear 115. A pulley 121 is fixed on the outer end of the drive shaft 117 (FIG. 2) and is engaged by a drive belt 122 which also extends around a variable speed pulley 123. The variable speed pulley 123 is fixed on the drive shaft 56, which controls the rotation of the pinwheel conveyor chains 41, 41', in the manner heretofore described.

An idler pulley 124 engages the belt 122 (FIG. 2) and is supported on a speed control lever 125 which is pivotally supported at its upper end on the frame 14. The lower end of the lever 125 is suitably connected to threaded control rod 126 which is supported on the frame 14. Rotation the threaded control rod 126 will vary the tension on the belt 122 and thereby vary the speed between the drive shaft 56 and the drive shaft 117 so as to thereby change the speed of the pinwheel drive chain 110, relative to the speed that the pinwheels 43 are carried along by the main conveyor chain 41.

Thus, if the chain is driven at the same lineal speed as the main chain 41, the sprockets 109 will be maintained in a nonrotating position, as they move along adjacent the final portion of the fabric spreader frame A. On the other hand, when the lineal speed of the chain 110 (FIG. 3) is faster than the lineal speed of the conveyor chain 41, clockwise rotation will be imparted to the sprockets 109 and to the pinwheels 43 so that the amount of compaction of the knit fabric or tubular fabric may be controlled by the speed of the chain 110. Also, it is also possible to reduce the speed of the drive chain 110, relative to the speed of the conveyor chain 41, to the point that counterclockwise rotation will be imparted to the pinwheels 43 and thereby apply a stretching force longitudinally of the tubular fabric carried on the corresponding portion of the spreader frame A.

The spreader frame A includes a trailing tail portion 130 (FIG. 1) which has an enlarged holdback cross member 131 attached thereto. Crossmember 131 may be in the form of a roller and is maintained in the nip of the feed rolls 12, 13 and prevents forward movement of the spreader frame A as the fabric F moves from right to left in FIG. 1. The forward end of the tail portion 130 is pivotally connected to the rear edge of a bottom support plate 132. Support bars 24, 24' are suitably supported for adjustment at their inner ends on the support plate 132 and their outer ends are fixedly connected to spaced apart guide rod side portions 133, 133 (FIG. 4). The guide rod side portions 133, 133 extend along opposite sides of the spreader frame A and opposite side portions of the tubular fabric F are drawn therealong. The leading ends of the guide rods 133, 133' are joined and provide a pivotal support for opposite ends of a U-shaped guide rod 134 (FIG. 1).

A spreader frame A is supported in the desired horizontal position by means of the rollers 30, 30' which engage the fabric F as it is drawn beneath the support plate 132. Widthwise adjustment between the guide rods 133, 133' is provided by rack teeth on the inner portions of the support bars 24, 24' which engage the teeth of a positioning gear 135. The gear 135 is supported for rotation on the support plate 132 and has a worm gear connected to the lower surface thereof. An adjustment shaft 137 extends along and is supported for rotation on the support plate 132, and has worm portions mating with the worm gears on each of the positioning gears 135 a A handwheel 140 is fixedly on one end of the adjustment shaft 137 (FIG. 1) and may be rotated through the tubular fabric to thereby adjust the width of the spreader frame A to the desired extent. Of course, when the width of the spreader frame A is adjusted, it may be necessary to adjust the width of the fabric advancing members B and B, by rotation of the hand wheel 86 so that the threaded support rods 31, 32 are rotated.

In accordance with the present invention, the pinwheels 43 may be rotated in a clockwise direction as they move along the latter portion of the spreader frame A so that the fabric is compacted to the desired degree, depending upon the amount of clockwise rotation to which is imparted to the pinwheels. If desired, the pinwheels may be maintained in a nonrotating position by moving the drivechain 110 at the same speed as 'the conveyor chain 41.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

I claim:

1. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus comprising a. a spreader frame adapted to fit within a continuous length of tubular fabric and having opposite sides adapted to engage and substantially flatten the tubular fabric,

2 wherein said drive means comprises a drive chain positioned b. fabric-advancing means including a plurality of spaced fabric-engaging members supported for rotation and engageable with the tubular fabric at opposite sides of said spreader frame, said fabric-engaging members being maintained in a nonrotating position for positively advancing opposite side portions of the fabric at a predetermined rate along a substantial portion of the length of said spreader frame, and fabric-compacting means operatively associated with said fabric-advancing means for imparting rotation to certain of said fabricengaging members and in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the fabric to retard the advance of the opposite side portions of the fabric along a selected portion of the length of said spreader frame and to thereby compact the fabric to the desired degree as it is drawn over said spreader frame.

. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus comprising a spreader frame adapted to fit within a continuous length of tubular fabric and having opposite sides adapted to engage and substantially flatten the tubular fabric,

b. fabric-advancing means engageable with the tubular fabric at opposite sides of said spreader frame, said fabric-advancing means including 1. a conveyor chain positioned adjacent opposite sides of 25 said spreader frame and having an inner reach extending parallel to said spreader frame,

2. pinwheels supported on said conveyor chains and successively engaging the tubular fabric as they move along said inner reaches, and

3. locking means for maintaining said pinwheels in nonrotating position throughout at least a portion of their path of movement along said inner reaches to positively advance opposite side portions of the fabric along said spreader frame, and

c. fabric-compacting means operatively associated with each said fabric-advancing means and comprising drive means for imparting rotation to certain of said pinwheels as they move along a selected portion of said inner reaches of said conveyor chains and in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the fabric to retard the advance of the fabric and to thereby compact the fabric to the desired degree.

3. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim adjacent on inner reach of a corresponding conveyor chain, a

sprocket fixed on each of said pinwheels and engageable by said drive chain, and means for releasing said locking means to permit said pinwheels to be rotated by said drive chain during a portion of the length of travel of said pinwheels along said spreader frame and to thereby compact the tubular fabric being drawn over said spreader frame.

4. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said locking means comprises a pinion operatively associated with each of said pinwheels, a locking pawl movable into and out of engagement with each said pinion to thereby control rotation and nonrotation of said pinwheels, and resilient means normally urging said locking pawls into engagement with said pinions, and wherein said releasing means comprises an elongate cam plate extending substantially the length of said drive chains and being engageable with said locking pawls to move the same out of engagement with said pinions so that said pinwheels may be rotated by said drive chains.

5. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 3 including common drive means for said conveyor chains and said drive chains.

6. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 5 including variable speed means interposed between said common drive means and said conveyor chains, and variable speed means interposed between said common drive means and said drive chains.

7. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 2 including means for ad'usting the width of said s reader frame to accommodate fa ncs of different widths an to adjust the spreading width of the tubular fabric drawn thereover.

8. A tubular-fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said spreader frame includes a baseplate and guide rods spaced from opposite sides thereof, and wherein said width adjusting means comprises spaced apart pairs of support bars supporting said guide rods on their outer ends and the inner end portions being supported for longitudinal movement above said baseplate, said inner end portions of said support bars including rack teeth portions, gear means carried by said baseplate and being operatively associated with said rack teeth portions to move said pairs of support bars outwardly and inwardly of said baseplate with rotation of said gear means, and manually operable means for simultaneously adjusting the position of said pairs of support bars. 

1. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus comprising a. a spreader frame adapted to fit within a continuous length of tubular fabric and having opposite sides adapted to engage and substantially flatten the tubular fabric, b. fabric-advancing means including a plurality of spaced fabric-engaging members supported for rotation and engageable with the tubular fabric at opposite sides of said spreader frame, said fabric-engaging members being maintained in a nonrotating position for positively advancing opposite side portions of the fabric at a predetermined rate along a substantial portion of the length of said spreader frame, and c. fabric-compacting means operatively associated with said fabric-advancing means for imparting rotation to certain of said fabric-engaging members and in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the fabric to retard the advance of the opposite side portions of the fabric along a selected portion of the length of said spreader frame and to thereby compact the fabric to the desired degree as it is drawn over said spreader frame.
 2. pinwheels supported on said conveyor chains and successively engaging the tubular fabric as they move along said inner reaches, and
 2. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus comprising a. a spreader frame adapted to fit within a continuous length of tubular fabric and having opposite sides adapted to engage and substantially flatten the tubular fabric, b. fabric-advancing means engagEable with the tubular fabric at opposite sides of said spreader frame, said fabric-advancing means including
 3. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said drive means comprises a drive chain positioned adjacent on inner reach of a corresponding conveyor chain, a sprocket fixed on each of said pinwheels and engageable by said drive chain, and means for releasing said locking means to permit said pinwheels to be rotated by said drive chain during a portion of the length of travel of said pinwheels along said spreader frame and to thereby compact the tubular fabric being drawn over said spreader frame.
 3. locking means for maintaining said pinwheels in nonrotating position throughout at least a portion of their path of movement along said inner reaches to positively advance opposite side portions of the fabric along said spreader frame, and c. fabric-compacting means operatively associated with each said fabric-advancing means and comprising drive means for imparting rotation to certain of said pinwheels as they move along a selected portion of said inner reaches of said conveyor chains and in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the fabric to retard the advance of the fabric and to thereby compact the fabric to the desired degree.
 4. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said locking means comprises a pinion operatively associated with each of said pinwheels, a locking pawl movable into and out of engagement with each said pinion to thereby control rotation and nonrotation of said pinwheels, and resilient means normally urging said locking pawls into engagement with said pinions, and wherein said releasing means comprises an elongate cam plate extending substantially the length of said drive chains and being engageable with said locking pawls to move the same out of engagement with said pinions so that said pinwheels may be rotated by said drive chains.
 5. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 3 including common drive means for said conveyor chains and said drive chains.
 6. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 5 including variable speed means interposed between said common drive means and said conveyor chains, and variable speed means interposed between said common drive means and said drive chains.
 7. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 2 including means for adjusting the width of said spreader frame to accommodate fabrics of different widths and to adjust the spreading width of the tubular fabric drawn thereover.
 8. A tubular fabric-spreading apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said spreader frame includes a baseplate and guide rods spaced from opposite sides thereof, and wherein said width adjusting means comprises spaced apart pairs of support bars supporting said guide rods on their outer ends and the inner end portions being supported for longitudinal movement above said baseplate, said inner end portions of said support bars including rack teeth portions, gear means carried by said baseplate and being operatively associated with said rack teeth portions to move said pairs of support bars outwardly and inwardly of said baseplate with rotation of said gear means, and manually operable means for simultaneously adjusting the position of said pairs of support bars. 